The Games We Play
by thingforpotassium
Summary: They can't live with or without each other. Chronological series of missing scenes during the end of season 9. Heavily implied Coynecest, slight AU.
1. behind the scenes

"Fiona! Where is your brother?" Jane hissed as she stormed by the young socialite. Fiona admired the way the bulky headset played off the stage manager's cheerleading costume and hurriedly-constructed pigtails; if "frazzled" were a fashion statement, this was what it looked like. Her hands were full with the hemline of a careless chorus girl's costume, on her knees as she corrected the result of getting a space-chic skirt caught in a dressing room door.

"I haven't seen him," Fiona answered, turning her attention back to skirt reconstruction. The niner inside the costume squirmed uncomfortably, probably in response to the tension between the two crew members. "Stop moving. Nobody paid for tickets to see all these frayed edges."

"Well, he better have a good reason to be late when his cell's been ringing off the hook for the past half hour. The _second _you see him, you tell him to get his ass to the control booth," Jane ordered before continuing her warpath. The cast and crewmembers crowding the backstage area parted like the Red Sea around the wrathful young woman. Space Awakening had proven its capacity to induce stress within the last 24 hours; their original leading lady was down for the count with a cold, Anya was making their co-costume mistress-ship difficult with her "artistic disagreements," and now Declan was MIA. Fiona was too loyal to her brother to rat on him to Jane, but she knew it had something to do with Holly J. Ever since their mother brought the news that they were returning to New York, Declan had reverted into a mopey state she hadn't seen since the last time he was in love. It turned her stomach, partly because she felt bad for her brother, but mostly because she didn't have a sympathetic taste for tragic romance. She and Declan were extreme opposites in that sense; he had always entertained whatever chances he got at lust or love, while she avoided them at all costs. This had the potential to dramatically complicate their relationship, but Fiona was confident in her ability to ground her brother back in Coyneland.

Finished with her handiwork, Fiona rose from her knees and glowered down the young performer. "I really don't want to clean up after you again," she warned curtly. "Try to get through the rest of tonight with _my _costume in one piece." The girl nodded and got away as quickly as she could. Fiona may have gotten on board with the musical to close the gap between her and the Degrassians, but she still reveled in the way she could make them quake in their boots when she wanted.

There were more and more students filing into the backstage area, and Fiona decided that Anya would be okay if she had to deal with the next wardrobe disaster herself. She strode through the crowd and out of the cloud of chaos, reclining against the wall between the two dressing room doors. The clock on the wall said that there were ten minutes until showtime. There was still no sign of Declan.

"Kind of crazy, huh?" The voice came from next to her. She turned to see a girl, dressed in a black hooded sweatshirt and black pants, and recognized her as one of the senior crew members. Her name was Eileen; she sported a short, bleached boycut and a lip ring, as well as a collected air, compared to the other crew members. Leaning against the wall next to Fiona, she continued, "I can't believe that junior director hasn't showed yet, after running us into the ground these past couple days. Makes me kind of not care how well this goes."

"That director's my brother," Fiona replied, narrowing her eyes, "so you can start caring again. He'll get here. Declan never abandons his commitments."

Eileen gave a surprised laugh, but she backed down. "Okay, okay. I didn't mean anything about Declan. Nothing much, I mean." She lazily ruffled the back of her short hair with one hand. "You do look a lot alike. I never noticed that before."

"We're twins." Fiona ran her eyes up and down her current company. She could remember what lied beneath that sweatshirt from the past week of dress and tech rehearsals. When Eileen stood at the top of the ladder as she refocused the house lights, wearing baggy pants and a form-fitting tank top and back muscles contracting, she looked almost boyish.

"Well, he seems nice otherwise," Eileen offered. And then she surprised Fiona when she said, "You're definitely the scary one."

Fiona blinked, momentarily silenced by the shock of the statement. "The _scary _one?" Of course she always expected it; what she didn't expect was for somebody she barely knew to come right out and say it.

Eileen chuckled. "You should've seen yourself during hell week. You act like you own the place. Not like that's a bad thing. But the niners were shitting themselves whenever you came into the room."

Fiona smiled, against her will. "What can I say? I manifest the Coyne spirit, and it's very…commanding."

And as soon as she said that, the pitch between the two started to change.

"Maybe that means you'd be a better director," Eileen suggested, moving closer to Fiona. She was slightly taller than her, with Fiona's eyes about at nose-level.

Fiona placed a hand on Eileen's chest. "Maybe we should test that theory," she purred, and she pushed Eileen backwards toward the girl's dressing room door. The door came open quickly and they spilled inside, lips crashing together with the sound of the door shutting behind them.

The momentum of the make-out session pushed the pair toward the table before the long lighted mirror. Fiona hopped cleanly onto the table without breaking from the kiss. Then, taking artistic liberty as the scene director, she firmly pushed Eileen down by the shoulders. She was never much for kissing. There was a wash of cool air on her thighs as Eileen whipped her skirt up to her waist. The older girl roughly felt up Fiona's thighs until her hands reached the charcoal-colored lace that hid her coveted parts. Fiona watched carefully to make sure Eileen didn't distress the expensive undergarment as she pulled them down, and in a flash she felt the warmth of her partner's mouth. Within a few seconds of the ministrations Fiona learned that Eileen's tongue was also pierced. She moaned and tilted her head back, bracing against the mirror. Eileen held her thighs apart firmly, rendering Fiona quite vulnerable to her masterful stimulation.

This wasn't something Fiona did often. She had only been with two other women before; the first time was the consequence of drinking at a family shmoozefest in Geneva. The second time was after a fight with her brother, shortly before the move to Canada. She'd run to one of her temporary friends, who'd started out comforting her before it turned into Fiona staying the night. They still hadn't spoken since. Fiona preferred to do these things without thinking about them.

She thrust herself into Eileen's competent mouth, basking in the sensations of the tongue running over and around and inside her. This girl was definitely an actual lesbian. She was talented. Fiona closed her eyes, pressed herself against the mirror for all she was worth. She gasped in response to the increasing vigor at her pussy and turned off her mind. The worst thing that could happen would be her brain interrupting her pleasure. That was scary business, considering the little control she had on her emotions in more normal situations. She cracked her eyes open a bit, only allowing them to focus on Eileen's shoulders as she imagined the rippling musculature to mask the image of a girl between her legs. Eileen was an expert; Fiona's insides were already tensing, ready for a release.

Her orgasm throbbed through her entire body. Fiona stifled a cry as the force of it pressed her harder against the mirror, and one of her hands flew out to hold Eileen's head onto her, not willing to let her go until she was finished.

And that's when the door opened.

Eileen pried herself away from Fiona's hand, causing an abrupt decline in Fiona's climax. Still panting from the exertion, Fiona turned to see her brother standing in the doorway.

"S-sorry!" Eileen stammered, clambering to her feet. Fiona didn't budge.

Declan bit his lip. "The rest of the crew's getting into their positions, Eileen. Perhaps you should go join them."

Eileen shot past him. "Sorry!" she repeated futilely behind her before disappearing.

Declan shut the door behind him. "Fiona, you know I don't mind your bicurious forays. But backstage at my own show? That's hardly professional."

Fiona hopped down from the table and delicately pulled her underwear back up her legs. "Says the man who's late for his own show," she retorted, primly smoothing out her skirt. "Besides, you don't care what I do."

"Let's not get into this again," Declan said coolly. "Especially not now."

"Whatever. Jane's looking for you."

"I haven't done anything wrong." Declan glared at his sister, even though she was avoiding his gaze. "You don't get to act like this when we have business to take care of."

"_You _have business to take care of, in the form of Holly J Sinclair. I already figured you were running late because of something to do with her. I can sense these things, you know. I know you, Declan."

"I said we're not getting into this again," Declan warned. He sighed, running a hand behind his head as he tried to keep cool. "Fiona, things are…changing. I really want it to work out with Holly J."

Fiona had heard that before. He said all the same things when he was in love the first time. If it played out the same way as it did before, she'd have to wait patiently until it blew over and life went back to normal. She wasn't sure if she was up to that; it was torturous once, and it'd be just as bad, if not more so, a second time.

Nevertheless, the look that overcame Declan's eyes was getting to her. She softened, and took a few steps closer to her brother. "I want you to be happy," she murmured, "but I miss you. I'm not like you. I can't meet other boys like how you can meet other girls."

Declan sighed, unable to respond to that. Then he reached his hand to his sister's face and gently pulled her in for a kiss. It felt like a spark between their lips. Fiona chased after it, trying to kiss him again, but he withdrew a bit, his intense eyes boring into hers.

"Can we please try to take this as it comes?" he asked.

Fiona swallowed, her throat suddenly dry. "I'll give it a try," she answered.

Declan smiled slightly, and he hugged her. "C'mon, let's get this show on the road," he said into her hair.

"Okay."

Declan gave her one last squeeze before slipping out of the dressing room, leaving Fiona to marinate in the situation alone. She knew the issue between them was far from resolved, that this was Declan's slick way of avoiding it. She wasn't looking forward to witnessing his relationship with Holly J up close.

Yet Fiona manifested the Coyne spirit, and aside from being commanding, it was resilient. She was going to have to keep telling herself that.


	2. after the met

Their New York penthouse was deserted when Declan and Fiona returned from the opera. Holly J was still out doing research on Flashin' Midnight for her internship. "Holly J must be working hard," Fiona commented as she hung up her coat.

"I think she appreciates the opportunity," Declan reassured his sister. "Besides, if you'd ever seen her at her most intense, you'd know she's quite the workaholic. She probably feels like she's on drugs right now."

Fiona made an unaffected "hmm" noise as she slipped into the kitchen. "Champagne?"

"No thanks." Declan followed her to the kitchen and leaned in the doorframe. "The opera afterglow is good enough for me tonight."

Fiona was already at the kitchen counter and in the process of opening a bottle. "Suit yourself." The cork popped ceremoniously and she poured herself a glass. "As for me, I'm going to celebrate our first beautiful night one-on-one in New York. I'm feeling so good about this summer already." She raised the glass to her lips and sipped, eyes closing in satisfaction as the flavor hit her tongue.

"Yeah. Me too. I missed taking the city with my favorite sister." Declan hesitated on saying his next thought; this was the first time all week Fiona had been the slightest bit chipper. "You're fine with Holly J now, right?"

Fiona paused, softly setting her glass down. "I've been happier, haven't I? Now that I'm also interning at TVM I'll have something to keep me busy, _and _she and I can get to know each other better." She smiled sincerely at her brother. "You were totally right. All I needed to do was give her time."

Declan blinked, stuck in a moment of surprise. "That's…awesome, Fi. That means so much to me."

"_Bien s__û__r, mon fr__è__re,_" Fiona replied, still smiling brightly. "_Qu'est-ce que j'aurais pu faire? Je t'adore plus qu'aucun._" She raised her glass again, tipping it to her brother before quickly finishing its contents.

Declan chuckled. "You have to lapse into French every time you drink champagne?"

"Hey!" Setting down the glass again, Fiona strode back to him and gave him a push in the chest with one hand. "It's better to practice than to lose it all. For a school in Canada there sure weren't any people to speak the diplomatic language with all that time."

"How would you know? Considering you wouldn't let anyone close enough to talk to you in the first place." Declan smirked triumphantly.

Fiona's mouth fell open, and she swished past him en route to the living room. "You mean, considering I don't leave a path of female destruction in my wake whenever we switch schools," she declared, perching herself on the loveseat in front of the television. "And considering I never hand out family heirlooms to my girlfriends."

Declan put his hands in his pockets, watching his sister amusedly. "This is becoming the Declan Coyne Roast Night?"

"_And _considering I've never written a musical about an alien going to high school."

He placed a hand on his heart. "Oof, Fiona. Now you're pulling out the big guns."

"Well, don't make fun of me for not wanting to mingle with the Degrassians then." Fiona curled up against the arm rest and looked away, pouting.

Declan sighed. "Fiona. We just went over how you were finally having _fun._ And now I'm getting the impression you're not."

"Take from it what you will," Fiona muttered.

"I bet I can cheer you up, if you like," Declan continued. He waited for the hidden meaning of that suggestion to register with his sister. When it did, she whipped her head to look at him, suddenly nervous.

"No, Declan," she began, backing as far into the armrest as she could, but she'd already run out of time. Declan was upon her in a flash, unleashing a tickling assault. Within seconds she was completely unraveled by her brother's fingers, writhing and laughing uncontrollably.

"Come on, _I'm _having fun," Declan taunted, focusing his attack on her vulnerable waist and ribs. "This always used to make you feel better when we were kids."

"Not…funny!" Fiona wheezed, trying and failing to dodge his determined hands. But Declan could tell from the shine in her eyes that she had given in to his clever tactic. Being her twin meant that he was the only one who knew how to win her over so easily when she was feeling down, or simply moody as she was now. There was evidence in the way she dropped the cold daughter of a diplomat act when they were alone, how she didn't object to the way he was mussing up her opera dress, how he was the only one who could possibly have known how ticklish she was under that severe demeanor she always wore. The sight of her right then woke up his affectionate side, reminding him of the special connection they had that few could understand.

"Declan, I can't…!" Fiona chortled, bringing him back to earth when he realized she was short of breath. He ceased, moving away so he could sit on the cushion next to her. She lay limp as she recuperated, shooting him a faux-glare for what he'd done to her. "I can't risk being sulky around you," she joked, delicately wiping a stray tear from her eye.

"Nope," Declan agreed, grinning as confidently as he ever had before. "Not on my busy schedule."

"Your busy schedule waiting for your girls to get home from their internships," Fiona teased.

Declan rolled his eyes. "Speaking of which, you should probably get to bed, sis. Kristin'll want you there on the dot."

Fiona groaned. "Ugh, tell me about it. But, whatever. It's worth having something to keep me occupied." She sat up, leaning closer to him. "Thanks for the wonderful night, dear brother."

"No problem."

She kissed him on the lips. They hovered near each other, struggling between a second kiss and putting an end to it.

"Sorry," she whispered. "Force of habit."

He nodded. "It's okay. G'night, Fi."

Fiona smiled weakly and got up from the couch, slipping up the stairs to her bedroom without glancing back once.

Left alone he tried to think little of it. The warmth of the kiss lingered on his lips.


	3. home from work

Fiona couldn't help but feel a glimmer of triumph in the fact that Declan was escorting her home from the studio without Holly J. But the sting of being outcast by Kristin wasn't something she had planned for. The busy streets scenes surrounding the two siblings blurred as they walked to the penthouse as fast as they could.

"I'm sorry, Fi," Declan apologized, as he'd been doing so profusely since they'd left. "I don't know what came over Holly J."

Fiona sniffled theatrically. "Maybe I should feel bad. She didn't take it well when I started working there…I probably pushed her over the edge."

"That's no excuse. This shouldn't even be an issue." They entered the lobby of the building and briskly made their way to the elevator. "She told me she thought you were trying to take her thing," Declan continued when the door slid shut behind them. He punched in their floor number and leaned against the wall, sighing. "You wouldn't do anything like that."

Fiona definitely would do anything like that. She had done anything like that time and time again to perforate Declan's trail of conquests ever since he had begun dating. He had no idea. But she silently nodded in agreement with the lie her brother believed in.

They made it back into the penthouse and went upstairs. She slipped into her walk-in closet to change into a more comfortable camisole and pair of lounge pants. Declan joined her on her bed; they leaned against the pillows at the headboard together, and he allowed her to rest her head on his shoulder. Being physically close with him didn't have that static-spark frenzy of adoration and lust she'd heard that everyone else had. Fiona felt familiarity, and with all the changes that she had to endure throughout her life she valued familiarity more than anything. It's part of what made her brother so perfect in her eyes.

"Do you remember that one time Dad had a short stint in Australia, and we ran away?" she piped up after they had sat there for quite some time.

"Yeah." Declan laughed a bit at the unexpected memory. "We thought that since we weren't going to be there long, they'd leave without us and then we could live there forever."

"Too bad the Sydney law enforcement was too fast at catching us," Fiona joked. "By now we could have been living on the harbor, seeing shows at the opera house…"

"But then we wouldn't be living in your favorite city anymore," Declan reminded her.

"True," Fiona admitted. She'd told Holly J herself that this was her city. "I'm just…fantasizing, I guess. Falling out with one of my big media connections has that effect on me."

"You'll find others." Declan's hand found her knee and gave it a consoling squeeze. "I hope this doesn't mean you're thinking of running away again. This place would feel pretty empty without you."

"No, I'm not going anywhere," Fiona reassured him. "I was only thinking…even just a couple years ago it felt like we could have run the world if we wanted to. And…" She felt him looking down at her expectantly as she struggled to find the words. "It just doesn't feel like that anymore, okay?"

"All because of this thing with Kristin?"

"Because we went to Degrassi and you left me alone a lot, with the school play and your dates and everything," she continued. "And…I _get_ that there's a long-term girlfriend in the picture, you want to be _normal…_"

"Fi, I'm not trying to reject you!" Declan interrupted. There was a panicked tone to his voice, which brought her a sick kind of pleasure from knowing he felt threatened. He knew what "normal" meant in that context. He and Fiona had a different kind of "normal," which Fiona herself still wouldn't ever be able to explain in the unlikely situation that called for it.

The two of them had kissed, fondled, slept in each other's beds. They'd never had sex. He'd eaten her out once and it was so good that she wasn't sure if she ever wanted him to do it again, so she got other girls to do it. That may have been why Fiona hadn't minded Declan's casual endeavors in the past; if it wasn't their territory, it didn't mean anything. In that tradition, he never had sleepovers with his flings. There were times when, after his date had gone home, he'd leave the warmth in his own bed for the space Fiona had saved for him on hers. The foundation of their relationship was rooted in pure closeness.

Normalcy was in the eye of the beholder.

"You'll always be the most important person in the world to me," Declan said softly.

"I know," Fiona replied, curling up even closer to him. "Can we just go shopping tomorrow? Kristin isn't a problem that retail therapy can't handle."

"Of course, Fi."

Half an hour later Holly J finally came home. Declan went down to meet her. Fiona stayed in her room, lying down in the fetal position; knowing that Holly J was in her living space was enough to make her livid on the inside. It was as if Holly J had grown bored of splitting the twins apart at school and was infiltrating their safe space in Manhattan to satisfy her evilness. She'd undone all the happiness Fiona had originally had over coming back home, taken her brother away from her, even gone so far as to ruin her firm (albeit superficial) standing with one of the top media outlets in North America. And as long as she was Declan's girlfriend, Holly J could continue the trend.

Fiona had no choice but to make her pay, before life was stuck like this forever. She wasn't sure how yet, but as soon as there was an opportunity it had to be done.


	4. schmoozefest from hell

Declan forced himself to stop calling Holly J after too many times; he longed to find out where she and Jane had gone, pull her aside, grovel to her in a way most unlike a Coyne. Unable to do so, he instead growled his ex girlfriends out of the penthouse and hurried Fiona up the stairs. "You've really outdone yourself this time, Fi," he hissed as they reached her bedroom door. He pushed it open and guided her inside, perhaps a little too roughly.

"_You two are pathetic!_" Holly J's voice rang through his ears, equal parts rage and hurt. "_I am DONE coming second to your sister, Declan!"_

This was one of the worst things he could imagine. It wasn't even just the prospect that Holly J might never forgive him. Fiona had kissed him right in front of her and revealed the very thing he had been trying so hard to move past. He couldn't imagine why Holly J would ever want to stick with him after being enlightened to his dirty shame. Losing her would be a lot more devastating than just losing a person. Holly J made him feel loved, respected…normal. No power struggles involved or playing pretend.

The idea that the entire country was going to get a glimpse into the years of secrets and games between him and his sister made his insides feel like a lead weight. The news was going to reach their parents in no time. They would more likely than not attribute the entire incident to Fiona, since they were well acquainted with her emotional episodes when mixed with champagne. Even then, he knew he wouldn't know how to act around his entire family for who knows how long.

"Declan," Fiona slurred, bringing him back from his thoughts. She stumbled toward her bed and sat down, lacking the grace she usually mastered. "This party was _my _idea. You don't get to put me to bed like this."

"It was also your idea to _ruin _the party, so I'd stop talking if I were you," Declan snapped. "Just go to sleep. I'll handle the paparazzi party guests myself."

"I don't know where my pajamas are," Fiona protested.

He stormed to Fiona's dresser, pulled out her set of green silk pajamas, and threw them at her. She barely caught them in her lap.

"You know I had to do something to keep her from coming between us."

Declan refrained from responding. He was making his way toward the door without any intention of giving in to his sister's tactics.

"At least be a gentleman and tuck me in," she insisted.

"No, Fiona!" Declan was officially fuming. "Stop playing that game with me! Do you have any idea what you just caused?"

Fiona giggled. "I got that conniving slut off your back for more than a few seconds. I think it was a new record!"

Declan could have said a lot of things right then—how dare she call Holly J a slut, how Fiona was always on his back regardless, not to mention his mind—but in an act of intense self-control he bit his tongue. He would continue to bite it until the next morning when he reached page six of the tabloids.

Instead, Declan turned his back on his sister. He walked out of her room, closed the door behind her, and went to attend the rest of the party. Luckily there were hardly any patrons left; in the wake of the awkwardness that had been born there, most of them had called it a night. The paparazzi had vanished. He ushered the remaining guests out the door as cordially and efficiently as possible. Soon only the hired staff remained, and they commenced the after party clean-up.

"Thanks for the help, everybody," he said, making some effort to sound at least a little upbeat, but it came out very strained.

The elevator door slid open. Declan wheeled around to see Holly J and Jane coming out of it. Holly J's face was pinkened with a history of tears; the makeup around her eyes had evidently been reinforced by a quick wiping away of melted mascara. Her eyes met his, and the gaze bored a heartbreaking beam of disgust and loathing into him.

"Holly J," he sputtered, taking a step toward the pair. But she was up the stairs in a flash, presumably going to his room first to grab her bedclothes before heading to the guest room.

Jane stayed downstairs. She held Declan in a revolted glare. "I hope your sister's worth losing her," she growled.

Declan stared down at the ground; he couldn't take the looks anymore. "I didn't tell her to take me away, you know."

"But you could have stopped her."

"No, I couldn't!" Declan's voice caught in his throat. "She…she's impossible to stop. I'm running out of ideas on what to do about it."

They stood in silence for a moment, until Jane sighed and walked closer to him. "She has issues, huh?"

_We have issues._ "It's getting pretty obvious."

"Maybe I could help you think of something to put an end to this?"

_Put an end to this._ Saying it that way made Declan nervous, which implied to him that he wasn't sure if he wanted his sister's love to end, which made him more nervous. But then he realized that Jane couldn't possibly have meant their relationship in all its intimate details; all she could tell was that this was a regular case of sibling jealousy. Well, maybe not completely regular, but not incestuous, either. "Maybe she and I do need serious time apart," Declan replied. "If I talk to Mom in the morning I can see about Fiona staying with our aunt for a little while." _She's not going to like that at all, _he thought, regretting the suggestion that he would exile his sister.

"I think that's a really good idea, actually," Jane assured him. "And, when it comes to Holly J? Deep down…she wants to give you a second chance. I think you have a chance to redeem yourself. Though, in the event that I just gave her a pep talk on how little she needs you, you should probably think of something really great to do…"

Declan managed a chuckle. "Thanks for the tip, Jane. I'll…I'll sleep on it, I guess. Spend all my dream energy on a good plan."

Jane gave a tired smile. "Best of luck, Master Coyne," she bid him. She ascended the stairs, leaving him with the remaining wait staff doing the last few polishes. Suddenly Declan felt exhausted; it was growing considerably late, and it hit him how fast time flew when he was thrown into a panic over the two women in his life.

He would call his mother before Fiona woke up in the morning and arrange to have her transferred to the Hamptons. Fiona would hate him. He'd never had to spring this kind of situation on her before but he already knew that she would be able to injure him with the amount of hate she'd feel. Fiona, unable to handle Holly J in the picture, would be shattered to pieces at the notion of being forced out of it. And Declan didn't know if that result would hurt her worse than it would hurt him to cause.


End file.
